Dear Thalia
by Zinc Cold
Summary: Chapter three: Hey... Thalia... can you hear me...? Chapter four: I See You. Mentions of Thuke and one-sided Thathan. Please read and review!
1. Prologue

_**Tell me what ya think!**_

"'Sup?"

"'Sup? Really?"

"Got anything better to say?"

She pauses. "Nah."

"Yeah, I thought not."

He sits down next to her, lying back into the grass. "So… what are the hunters doing?"

"Same as you. Looking for Percy."

He frowns. It has been three days since Annabeth messaged him, crying that Percy had disappeared. "Help me," she had muttered. "Please…" It feels off, that she has trusted him to find her boyfriend. After all, he has tried to kill him several times. But now he is back. He can make a difference. He can start a new life, a good… butterfly!

He shakes his head, his ADHD slowly getting the better of him.

"Got any clues?"

"No. And if I did, I wouldn't tell you," she spits, looking disdainfully upon him. He merely shrugs, adjusting his eye patch.

"I also don't, Thalia. But if I get a lead, you'll be the first to know. Wait, no, you'll be the… third to know. I guess I'd be the first, Annabeth would be the second and you'd be the third." He smiles in an attempt at humor. It fails. Thalia simply scoffs and rolls her eyes.

"Has death, like, reshuffled your priorities, Nakamura? 'Cause just a few months ago, you were trying to kill Percy and, wait, there's the tiny little problem that you were on the titan's side and you fell off the Empire State Building and now you're freaking back from the freaking dead!"

He pauses, the regret clear in his eyes. Thalia does not look so forgiving though. "I know what I did was horrible, Thalia, but I am here, ready to start a new life. I want to help. Annabeth trusts me, why don't you?"

"Because Annabeth isn't always right."

"Oh yeah, like when?"

"About Luke."

"You also liked him."

Her face hardens. "No."

"But he loved you. A lot. All he thought about was you and Annabeth, though differently. Annabeth was like his little sister, but he really loved you. He'd have nightmares and wake up calling for you. He held a picture of you close, at all times." He looks over at the huntresses shocked expression. "How I know this? Come on, Thalia, we knew each other at camp. I was Luke's friend, like it or not. I was his lieutenant."

"You know nothing," Thalia mutters, her jaw tight and her eyes angry. "You were never Luke's friend, Ethan, _never_."

The way he glares at her is so intense that even the daughter of Zeus shrinks back a bit, taken by surprise at the hate in the boy's eyes. "Oh yeah, and how would I know all this then, huh?" There is a long silence before he speaks again. This time, his voice is softer, somehow more friendly. "You… you loved him too, didn't you?"

It is like she has no anger left to answer. She just shakes her head, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"You'll say you didn't, but I can read you, Thalia. I always could." His hand reaches out to touch her elbow but she slaps him away.

"Stay away from me, Ethan!"

"You called me Ethan. Not Nakamura. Just Ethan."

She punches him lightly in the shoulder but doesn't say anything, her eyes distant. He continues.

"Do you remember when we first met? I do. It was when you were running up Half-Blood Hill and your dad transformed you into a tree. I… I was the one who threw the ambrosia square to you. Heh, you made quite a nice tree. Then, of course, when you came back you were there. It was like seeing you for the first time, but it wasn't. You hadn't changed a bit. But… you didn't remember me. It was that summer that I left to find Luke. It was… because… because of you, I guess. Annabeth didn't know who I was, you didn't remember me, and Percy was the child of the prophecy; why would anyone remember me?"

Thalia says nothing, just keeps looking out at the sky, so Ethan continues, not once taking his eyes off her.

"It was quite a shock when I found out I was alive. I had been having a great time in Elysium, when there was this rumbling, and a crack appeared in the middle of the dance floor. No one seemed to notice it but me, and I felt as if I had to jump in. Next thing I knew, I was stumbling into Annabeth's arms. I made her swear not to tell anyone. It was weird, the way she just nodded. Heh, she even hugged me a little. It's like she trusts me."

"She knows how to judge people," Thalia says, her eyes slightly misty. "I guess… if she trusts you… even though she's wrong sometimes… fine. What's your offer?" Her eyes zoom back to focus in on Ethan's thin figure still lying on the grass next to her.

He smiles slightly. "We help each other. Any clue, any sign, anything, we Iris Message each other instantly. And… you can't tell anyone about me."

She nods slowly, clearly thinking about the deal. "Okay… de- deal."

He sits up and grins at her, holding his hand out. She shakes it, mesmerized by the way she so simply made a deal with the boy.

"This doesn't change anything though, Nakamura. Remember that."

And then she is gone, running off into the woods behind them, leaving Ethan sitting in the grass. He sighs and lies down once again; it is now dark and the moon is shining high above him. From where he looks at it, it is a downward curve, almost as if it were frowning. Somewhere off to the right, there is a bright red dot- Mars.

Ethan frowns. The gods clearly know something is wrong. Heck, he knows something is wrong. He is back from the dead, after all.

Thalia was right, he thinks. Death had reshuffled his priorities. He frowns- what Thalia says sounded suspiciously like a quote, but he just can't place it.

Yes, something big and bad is coming, and Ethan has to help find Percy before it is too late.

_**Yeah, not the best, but it's something. Tell me what you think- I really need all the constructive criticism I can get! So, review please! **_


	2. Dear Thalia, I Feel Like an Idiot

_Dear Thalia,_

_Long time, no see, eh? _

He frowns, then crosses out the few lines.

_What's up, Thals?_

Nu-uh. No way is he writing that.

_Hey Thalia, I feel like an idiot._

_Yeah, I'm just as surprised as you are that I'm writing this._

That sounds better.

_But I want you to know that I have tried probably a million times to write this, so just listen, okay? When we met a few months ago, we made a deal, right? Well yeah, I'm telling you everything now, just in case your cold hunter's heart will listen._

He frowns. That just makes him sound desperate, he finds, but he also finds it oddly poetic, so he continues writing.

_The truth is, I've found Percy long ago. I am somehow linked to him. I guess it's because I owe him my life or so. Damn it, I feel like such an idiot right now. Anyway, yeah, I didn't really find Percy, and I haven't yet, but mentally I have. I just _know_ where he is._

That really makes him sound insane, doesn't it?

_But… there are other things. There are things demigods are telling me when I meet them. They say I am a monster and that I am some kind of freak. One of the girls won't even look at me because she think's I am, like, the devil himself or something. I guess it hurts more than I'm letting on, and if you tell anyone, I swear I will kill you._

_And then there is this one last thing. _

_I love you._

Oh, there is no way in Hades he is leaving that un-crossed out.

_Ah, who am I kidding? There is nothing else. Please, respond to this._

_Not so warm regards (I am in Washington and it is fricking freezing!),_

_Ethan. _


	3. Dear Thalia, I AM an Idiot

_**Thanks, reviewers! Hopefully I get a few more!**_

_Hey Thalia, I _am_ an idiot_

Well, that really does make him sound like one.

_I am an idiot because I thought you'd respond to my last letter. I am an idiot because I thought it'd be easy, keeping in touch with you. I am an idiot because… because… because I thought you trusted me? Look, I told you pretty much everything in that last letter and you couldn't even be bothered to reply?_

Yeah, he thought. That sounded more like him.

_Well, since my mother is the goddess of justice and I _always_ keep my end of the bargain, I'll tell you what I've found so far._

_I've seen Percy a few times in the San Francisco area, always in a purple shirt and a couple of kids along with him. The first time, I called out to him, and the kids replied by throwing a bomb at me (don't worry, I got away with just a few scrapes, not that you'd care). So I tried following them, but I kept losing them._

That makes him sound more pathetic than his poetic skills shown in the last letter.

_I should probably describe the kids. The one guy, I think his name is Bobby, looks like an actor. He has dark skin, short black hair and is always smiling. I think he's gay though. The other kid is a girl who appears to be his sister- Reyna. She's hot._

He quickly erases the last sentence.

_She's got long black hair that goes halfway down her back and dark eyes. They seem to be very protective of Percy. Then there's this other kid, he seems just as disoriented as Percy. His name is Sydney, but they call him Sid. I think he's Bobby's half-brother or something. They have a similar structure and way of speaking and movements. He's got weird hair. It's like a mohawk, just the hair around the part that sticks up in the middle is already growing. The middle part is short and black, and the rest of it is white. Weird, huh?_

Well, that was probably the longest description of a person he had ever given.

_Well, hit me back if you can, alright? Seriously, it would mean a lot._

_Love,_

Ah, Minotaur dung, he curses, rubbing out the last line hastily.

_From the-guy-who-died-but-came-back-to-life-and-is-trying-to-help-you,_

_Ethan._

_**Review please!**_


	4. Hey Thalia Can You Hear Me?

_**Few more reviews, please?**_

Ethan sighs as he looks out over San Francisco. It has been three days since he last saw Percy and sent his second letter to Thalia. She still hasn't contacted him. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have bothered him so much, but Thalia is… different. She's the first girl to have really sparked his attention, not only because she is pretty, but because she actually has a personality.

He remembers Elli, an empousa who tried to get it on with him on the Princess Andromeda. He shudders at the memory, preferring to think of Thalia. Maybe he should write her another letter.

_Hey… Thalia… can you hear me?_

_Look, it'd be kinda awesome if you answered, you know, just like a sign saying you're alive. I miss you._

What the Hades is wrong with him, he asks himself, furiously crossing out the last sentence.

_I haven't seen Percy in three days, but I got this really bad feeling. _

_Could you please respond? It would maybe make me a bit happier. I know you're a hunter and all, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends, right? Okay, I'll admit it. I miss you. I need someone to talk to. If you get this and you're not totally heartless, which I know you aren't, meet me at the Falcon Café in San Francisco, you know which one._

_Ciao,_

_Ethan._

He sighs audibly as he folds up the letter and digs around in his backpack, pulling out two things: a drachma and an envelope. Carefully placing the letter in the envelope, he seals it. He then puts the drachma in an outside pocket, and very clearly writes on the envelope:

Thalia Grace

Lieutenant of Artemis,

Hunter's Camp.

Please write back! –Ethan

Little wings sprout from the sides of the envelope and it flaps away, heading out the cave and eastward. He leans back against the wall, listening to the evening sounds outside. Slowly, as the sun begins to set, it starts raining. Suddenly, it turns into a downpour, lasting about three minutes, and when it stops, there is a rainbow, beginning just outside the cave entrance. Is Iris trying to tell him something? Is he forgetting something?

Annabeth!

Hastily, he digs another drachma out of his backpack and tosses into the rainbow.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Annabeth Chase, Camp Half-Blood."

The drachma shimmers and disappears, being replaced by an image of Annabeth. She is on Zeus's Fist, alone, looking at a picture in her hands. Probably of Percy, Ethan thinks, watching Annabeth silently for a few moments.

"Hey," he greets, trying to sound casual. The truth is, he feels guilty. He has told Thalia everything and Annabeth nothing, even though he is doing the favor for Annabeth. Annabeth jumps slightly, but regains her composure quickly, brushing her hands over her eyes and pushing her hair out of her face.

"Hey, Ethan. Got any news on Percy?"

"Yeah…-ish. He's in San Francisco. But don't come rushing down here yet! I haven't been able to follow him, and I can only gather that he is being fed and has a place to stay. And… he doesn't remember anything. He… he thinks these guys named Bobby, Reyna and Sid are his best friends. He even saw me once and looked me straight in the eye, but no recognition."

He blinks, trying not to look at Annabeth's torn face. It is weird, seeing her in this vulnerable state. So weird.

"Do you… have you… Reyna… are they, like, …close?"

His mouth forms a comical 'O'- he should have known Annabeth would ask that.

"Well, I… I honestly don't know, Annabeth. I'm trying to get all the help I can, but Tha- that falcon is annoying me," he quickly hastens to correct himself, looking out of the cave to the imaginary falcon flying up above. But, unfortunately, Annabeth isn't that stupid.

"You've been talking to Thalia?"

"No."

"But you said her name."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"I did not."

"You said part of it."

"No."

"I am a daughter of Athena, Ethan. Don't lie to me." Her eyes shift down, slightly disappointed. "You… you've had contact with her, right?"

Ethan shakes his head in defeat, throwing another drachma into the rainbow, and the image of Annabeth keeps steady.

"Look, we talked, made a deal, and she's not responding to me, happy?"

"Ugh. No. Why didn't you tell me this? Why didn't she tell me this?"

"Because it's none of your business!" Ethan snaps, not meaning to sound so harsh. Annabeth's eyes go wide in shock as realization hits her.

"You like her, don't you?"

At this, Ethan swings his fist through the message, shattering the image of Annabeth's face. A little growl from the doorway meets his ears. He swings around, his arms taking a defensive position, but there is nothing but a small white wolf standing there. Around its neck there is a little piece of paper. Thalia's response.

_**Reviews, please? Would make a certain son of Eris veeeery happy!**_


	5. I See You

_**... Review... Please... Review?**_

He sighs as he sits in the back of the café, waiting for Thalia. What should he say? Has she read the crossed out lines? Impossible; no one can read his crossed out lines. Err… scratch that, no one can read his hand writing. He doesn't know why he's nervous. He has convinced himself that it's just because Thalia might kill him, but he knows that's not it.

It's Thalia herself. It's everything about her that makes her so intriguing to him, and she's all he can think about, however cheesy it may sound. He tries to clear his head of the thoughts as a certain girl enters the café with black hair and a silver circlet. For a moment Ethan's mood brightens, but then he can see another girl following closely behind Thalia.

He leans back so that the shadows hide his face, and lets Thalia find him. He is in no way planning on making this easy for her. Oh no, no way.

She nods curtly to him and takes a seat across from him, the other girl sitting by her side, glaring at him.

"I thought I said this is our little secret."

"Phoebe can be trusted. Besides, I am a hunter. Hunters don't have private meetings with boys."

He shrugs, trying to play it cool. Oh, how he wants to rip Phoebe's head off. Even if he would've gotten nowhere with Thalia that afternoon, it still would've been time alone with her, time alone with someone he actually somewhat knew who wasn't dead or hated his guts.

"I don't care. She leaves or I leave."

Phoebe opens her mouth to say something, but Thalia buts her hand on Phoebe's shoulder.

"It's okay, she doesn't know who you are."

"Don't care, Thals. She leaves or I leave."

"Don't. Call. Me. _Thals_," Thalia hisses at him, the anger open on her face. Phoebe looks torn between anger and humor, giving her face a rather unattractive scrunched up look, Ethan finds.

"Whatever, _Thals_. I'll just leave and you'll never find who you're looking for, got it?"

Thalia looks like she is about to murder him, but then her face softens up a bit and she gives a quiet signal to Phoebe. The latter girl gets up, somewhat reluctantly, and leaves the table, taking a seat across the room, but still keeping a sharp eye on Thalia and Ethan.

"I am going to kill you, Nakamura."

"Ah, please, Thalia, that's getting old."

"Huh?"

"I only had someone tell me that every day when I was alive."

"… True. So, why you wanna meat?"

"Nice grammar, Grace."

"Oh shut up," she snarls, sounding every bit as harsh as she wants to. Ethan sighs. This is going nowhere.

"Listen, Thalia, if you don't want to know anything, you can leave and take your precious little hunter with you," he growls, looking at her with hate in his one visible eye. Thalia shrugs and Ethan doubles over, experiencing the pain of Thalia having kicked him… where it hurts. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you why I wanted to meat and what I know."

"Better."

After Ethan has calmed down a bit and the waitress has brought them drinks and a flirtatious wink at Ethan that sails right over his head, he starts talking. He is still making sure the shadows are obscuring his face and Phoebe can't see him though.

"Look, we made a pact, and I expect you to hold up your end. I sent you a letter, two actually, and you sent how many back? None, exactly."

"Well, you never mentioned that I should write back in your letters."

"Urgh, why are you so effin' annoying?"

Thalia shrugs and looks at her nails, clearly bored. "If that's all, Nakamura, I'll be leaving then."

She gets up, and Ethan leans back, closely watching her every move. So elegant…. Just as she has almost turned her back, he speaks up.

"He's going on a quest, you know. With Bobby, Reyna and Sid. They walked by not too long ago, speaking about it. Sounds like they're headin' to New York City via the junkyard of the gods."

Thalia pauses, clearly intrigued, but not wanting to grant Ethan the satisfaction of knowing it. "Yeah, whatever, Nakamura. I'll write back at some point."

And so simply, she just leaves. 'I love you too,' Ethan mouths after her, as he watches her. She walks to Phoebe, lightly touching the other girl's shoulder, and they both stand up. Phoebe asks a few questions, but Thalia doesn't seem to answer them properly, for Phoebe still looks mad. Thalia grips Phoebe's arm and talks intently, almost threateningly, to the girl, and Phoebe loosens up a bit. They turn to leave, and just as they are walking out of the door, Phoebe turns around one last time to look at Ethan, just in the moment he puts his head forwards.

Phoebe's eyes widen in shock as Ethan simply grins at her. Then she is gone, pulled away by Thalia, who is giving Ethan a nasty glare. He winks at her, almost flirty. Err… big mistake. The unmistakable smell of ozone fills the room, and Ethan has the odd sensation that some of his hair has been singed off.

He smiles. Gotta love Thalia, he thinks, leaning back and enjoying his soda.

_**Okay, I'm not usually good with romance-y stuff (other people will tell you otherwise, but this is just my opinion). Could you please review? Would make me very happy :) **_


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